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Heartstone
- Narrated by: Anton Lesser
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
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Heartstone
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Summary
Abridged edition.
Heartstone is C. J. Sansom's fifth spellbinding mystery in the Shardlake series.
Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. As the English fleet gathers at Portsmouth, the country raises the largest militia army it has ever seen. The King has debased the currency to pay for the war, and England is in the grip of soaring inflation and economic crisis.
Meanwhile Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of "monstrous wrongs" committed against a young ward of the court, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth.
Once arrived, Shardlake and Barak find themselves in a city preparing to become a war zone; and Shardlake takes the opportunity to also investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettiplace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam. The emerging mysteries around the young ward, and the events that destroyed Ellen's family nineteen years before, involve Shardlake in reunions both with an old friend and an old enemy close to the throne. Events will converge on board one of the King's great warships, primed for battle in Portsmouth harbour . . .
Continue the gripping historical series with Lamentation and Tombland.
Critic reviews
"Murder, mystery and turbulent history are expertly twisted together in Sansom’s fifth Tudor crime novel." (Sunday Times Culture)
"CJ Sansom writes with verve and conviction, drawing the reader into the heat and terror of the summer of 1545." (The Daily Express)
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What listeners say about Heartstone
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Linda
- 30-04-15
Spellbinding story
A captivating story with twists and turns of intrigue, secrets, murder and of course the historical facts interwoven with them. Superbly read by Anton Lesser as he gives the drama full colour and excitement with his abundance of character voices :)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Knavesmere
- 01-12-14
Super narration
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Absolutely, I'd recommend the book, but you really do need to know the previous stories to get the most out of it.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I do enjoy Barrack - honest, strong and the common man adding a bit of humour to the formality of some of the words.
Have you listened to any of Anton Lesser’s other performances? How does this one compare?
No, but I will keep an eye out for him going forward.
Any additional comments?
Anton Lesser - what a wonderful narrator! Great story, great narration, loved it!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- John Blackmore
- 24-12-10
Abridged ?
Sansom and Lesser great as always but why was it necessary to abridge the book ?
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Phil
- 16-04-21
Loved it
Anything read by Anton Lesser is a winner in my book. I love Shardlake brilliantly written and oozing with history... what's not to love.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- ThePuss
- 16-04-12
Excellent book, well read
CJ Sansom's lawyer/detective is once again on a royal job that he doesn't particularly want. The writing is inspired and together with the actual historical events that are entwined in the story line, the Matthew Shardlake series of books are a pleasure to read... you can almost "smell" the 16th Century from the description. And, Anton Lesser's narration is once again excellent... just enough accent and voice change between characters to recognise each one, without getting into the world of silly voices!
If you haven't read one of these yet, I really recommend starting with "Dissolution" and going through in order, but if you start here you'll still enjoy the ride!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Rogayah
- 15-12-10
To battle
Shardlake rides to the rescue again of someone in need. A simple request by Queen Jane combined wtith his own curiosity about a woman in Bedlam turns a journey to Portsmouth into a glimpse into one of Henry VIII's disastrous clashes with the French and a gripping tale of mystery and intrigue.
Set in the turbulent period of Henry VIII's reign, this book offers both solid historical fact and an entertaining story about Lawyer Shardlake, a minnow in the hands of his enemies in Henry's court like the powerful Richard Rich.
Anton Lesser has read all the Shardlake series to date and has made them his own now, a better reader cannot be found
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- jo
- 08-08-11
Heartstone
I was very pleased to see this on the list, Anton Lesser is fabulous as usual. Why oh why is it abridged?? I normally avoid them not seeing the point at all. Having read the book it misses out some of the great details that make Sansom books so good. Abridged books are to be avoided !!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Fiona Berry
- 18-12-19
Gripping story, masterfully read
I found this book very enjoyable, and both storytelling and narrator engaging and enthralling. I'd recommend the combination of Anton Lesser and CJ Samsom to anyone.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Harriet Morris
- 09-10-10
A MUST HAVE FOR LOVERS OF TUDOR HISTORY!
Yet another terrific book from C.J. Sansom! The narrative by Anton Lesser must be somewhere near the top for the magical characterisation of his readings! I just could not stop listening (all night)! This particular part of Henry VIII reign is given a quite different angle! Just wonderful!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 03-10-11
want more
If you have not read or listened to a Shardlake you should but idealy form the start, well written fabulously read.
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